The Shearer's Wife Read online

  Fleur McDonald has lived and worked on farms for much of her life. After growing up in the small town of Orroroo in South Australia, she went jillarooing, eventually co-owning an 8000-acre property in regional Western Australia.

  Fleur likes to write about strong women overcoming adversity, drawing inspiration from her own experiences in rural Australia. She has two children, an energetic kelpie and a Jack Russell terrier.

  Website: www.fleurmcdonald.com

  Facebook: FleurMcDonaldAuthor

  Instagram: fleurmcdonald

  other books

  Red Dust

  Blue Skies

  Purple Roads

  Silver Clouds

  Crimson Dawn

  Emerald Springs

  Indigo Storm

  Sapphire Falls

  The Missing Pieces of Us

  Suddenly One Summer

  Fool’s Gold

  Where the River Runs

  Without a Doubt

  Starting From Now

  Red Dirt Country

  First published in 2020

  Copyright © Fleur McDonald 2020

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968 (the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.

  Allen & Unwin

  83 Alexander Street

  Crows Nest NSW 2065

  Australia

  Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

  Email: [email protected]

  Web: www.allenandunwin.com

  ISBN 978 1 76087 681 4

  eISBN 978 1 76106 052 6

  Set by Bookhouse, Sydney

  Cover design: Nada Backovic

  Cover images: Shutterstock, Stocksy and iStock

  To those who are precious

  CONTENTS

  Chapter 1: 1980

  Chapter 2: 2020

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4: 1980

  Chapter 5: 2020

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7: 1980

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9: 2020

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12: 1980

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14: 2020

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16: 1980

  Chapter 17: 1981

  Chapter 18: 2020

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25: 1981

  Chapter 26: 2020

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Chapter 1

  1980

  The beige Holden Kingswood wagon pulled to a stop next to the fuel pump at the Golden Fleece roadhouse.

  Rose Kelly breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed her hands over her pregnant belly. She felt as big as an elephant and was desperate to get out of the confines of the car.

  ‘All right then, sweet Rosie?’ Ian, her husband, asked as he reached for his wallet sitting on the bench seat between them.

  Rose smiled; she liked when Ian called her ‘sweet Rosie’. His Irish lilt made her sound as if she were an exotic flower. His Irish rose.

  ‘Not really. I’m really uncomfortable. How long until we get there?’

  Ian threw the heavy door open. ‘I’m not sure. Probably half an hour. You’ll be right. You’re only pregnant, not sick. Many women have given birth in the back of a car.’

  Rose groaned as she felt a solid kick from inside her, and reached for the door handle. ‘That’d better not be me. I don’t see you hauling around a stomach larger than the Opera House and getting kicked from inside!’

  ‘Reckon I drag heavier wethers, though.’ Ian grinned and leaned over, patting her leg. ‘You’ll be right, love.’

  ‘Hmm. You only have to drag one sheep at a time. I’ve got two babies in here, Ian. Two! Could we stay here the night?’ Rose asked, as she hauled herself out of the car. ‘Barker looks like a nice little town. Surely they’d have a room at the pub. I’m really tired.’

  Leafy trees lined the quiet street. Only two cars sat parked in front of the local shop. The voices of unseen men rose on the hot, still air: ‘Catch! Catch!’

  A cricket match on the oval, on Saturday afternoon, she thought. Maybe there’s a tennis club here. Rose remembered playing tennis when she was at school. A sense of displacement hit her again. The nagging feeling of wanting to stay in one place had started a few months ago, as she’d felt her body swell. Travelling was increasingly awkward and the roads rough as her twin babies bounced inside her.

  What she wouldn’t do for a house and a garden, somewhere she could walk, potter and cook in a kitchen, instead of being pulled from one shed to the next. They hadn’t been home since they were married twelve months before, on her nineteenth birthday, and it had been longer since she’d seen her family. Not that she was convinced they wanted to see her.

  The irony of the situation was not lost on her: when she’d left her hometown, it had been to escape the confines of her strict, religious family, needing to taste freedom and space, and now all she wanted was a home. Somewhere to build a life. To raise her babies.

  Her babies. Twins. She hadn’t even known twins were possible. She hadn’t known anything, so every part of this pregnancy was new and frightening. Ian had been so proud when she’d told him she was expecting.

  ‘A baby! Well, it’ll be a boy, for sure.’

  Then there had been a bit of spotting and Ian had agreed to stop in a small town so she could visit the hospital. There, they’d found out she was having twins.

  They’d driven in shell-shocked silence to the next shed. The next lot of shearers’ quarters. The next lot of shearers. The shearing team—usually a dozen of them and all blokes—camped close to each other. She was sick of the constant travel, the weary men and the stench of sheep.

  Their accommodation was the same as all the others: one small room for the two of them, nowhere private for a moment’s peace. Rose had to share her new husband with everyone else and there were very few people for her to talk to. Sometimes she wondered how she’d ended up pregnant and on the road at twenty. But she loved and trusted Ian, and was still happy to sit beside him in the passenger seat.

  She sighed, turning towards him as he spoke.

  ‘Surely they do,’ Ian nodded. ‘But …’

  The fuel attendant came out. ‘How much would you like?’ he asked, unscrewing the fuel cap.

  ‘Fill her up. Thanks, mate.’

  ‘Just passing through?’ the man asked, as the smell of fuel rose into the air.

  ‘Nah, be around for a few weeks. Got a bit of work out at a shed just north of here.’ Ian walked away from the car and stretched. ‘Out at Jacksonville.’

  ‘Oh, yeah? Shearer?’

  ‘Ian Kelly, at your service.’ He held out his hand and the other man shook it.

  ‘Stuart Martin. Good people out there at Jacksonville.’ He glanced across at Rose. ‘Long way to the hospital from there though. Near
ly an hour’s drive when the road’s good. Get a thunderstorm and you’ll be stuck for a while.’

  ‘An hour, you say?’ Ian answered. ‘Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind. Haven’t been there before. Good to hear they’re nice.’

  ‘Can’t go wrong with Ross and Ali Barton. Top shelf.’ He looked over at Rose. ‘Long to go?’

  ‘A month or so yet. I wish they would arrive sooner,’ Rose said, pushing her red hair away from her forehead. ‘I’m sick of being fat and beaten up from the inside.’ She paused. ‘That sun’s got some bite in it.’ She fanned her face. Another kick and she clutched her belly, unable to stop from groaning aloud.

  ‘Rose?’ Ian took a step towards her.

  An older woman, dressed in jeans and a shirt, walked out of the roadhouse, her blonde ponytail bouncing behind her. ‘Hello! Oh, are you all right there?’ She glanced at Ian as he put his hand on Rose’s shoulder. ‘Take some deep breaths now. That’s right, in and out.’

  Rose focused on the woman’s voice and did what she was told.

  The woman squatted down in front of her and smiled encouragingly. ‘Well done. Keep breathing.’ She turned to look up at Ian. ‘Is she having contractions?’

  ‘How the hell do I know? She was fine in the car a minute ago.’ Ian took a couple of steps back, looking shaken.

  Rose flapped her hands and shook her head. ‘No,’ she said when the pain receded. ‘No, I’m fine. I get these cramps occasionally, and they go again.’ She stood upright and looked at Ian. ‘I’m fine, honest.’

  ‘Come on, let’s get you inside, out of the sun. I think a cold drink will do you wonders.’

  ‘That would be wonderful, thank you,’ Rose said, as the woman turned to walk inside. Rose planted her hand on her lower back as she plodded beside her, still marvelling at the change in her centre of gravity; her belly leading the way. ‘I’m Rose.’

  ‘I’m Evie,’ the older woman smiled as she ushered Rose inside. ‘How long to go?’

  ‘Not soon enough! Twins, if you can believe it. Baptism by fire!’

  ‘I can,’ Evie replied. ‘You’re big enough. Those cramps you’re getting are probably Braxton Hicks. And you’re right, they come and go a bit.’

  ‘Braxton what?’

  ‘Hicks. It means your body is getting ready for labour.’ Evie was silent for a moment while she opened the fridge and brought out an enamel jug. ‘Haven’t you heard about them before?’

  Rose shook her head and tried to swallow the lump in her throat. ‘We didn’t talk much about this sort of thing in my family.’

  Evie nodded with a kind smile. ‘Did I hear you’re on your way to Jacksonville?’

  ‘Yeah, Ian has a stand at the shearing shed for a few weeks.’

  ‘You’re brave, going to stay out there. Away from the hospital.’ She poured a glassful and handed it to Rose. ‘Homemade lemonade. Sit down.’

  Rose shook her head. ‘I’ve been sitting all day. I need to stretch, but thank you.’ She took a sip of the cold, sweet drink and smiled. ‘This is just like my grandmother’s. Lemon juice and sugar topped up with water?’ she asked.

  ‘Sure is!’ Evie filled up her glass. ‘Good old-fashioned, thirst-quenching drink. Plenty more where that came from.’ She eyed Rose curiously. ‘How long have you been on the road?’

  ‘Feels like forever! Especially since I’ve got bigger. The car isn’t as comfortable as it used to be. Every time we hit a pothole, I feel like the seat is coming up through my stomach!’ She took another sip. ‘We’ve come from Lucindale and before that Mount Gambier. I’ve forgotten where we were earlier.’

  ‘Yep, I imagine the bubs are giving you a good kicking. Where are you from?’

  ‘Ballarat.’ She paused, suddenly and inexplicably wanting to pour out her heart to this woman. It had been so long since Rose had seen her mother, and there weren’t many women to talk to on the farms and stations Ian worked. Sometimes the loneliness crept in. ‘I’m a bit scared,’ she said, the words tumbling out before she could stop them.

  ‘Why’s that, Rose?’ Evie fixed her with such a sympathetic look, Rose thought she might cry.

  ‘I don’t know anything about this. Ian keeps saying I’ll be fine. Women have had babies for generations.’

  ‘And so they have.’ Evie nodded.

  ‘I don’t even know if I’ll realise when I’m in labour! I don’t know anything, not even about these Braxtons—whatever you just said.’ The anxiety that had been building in Rose over the months finally came to the surface.

  ‘Oh, you’ll know, all right,’ Evie said dryly as she moved over to the bookshelf and started looking through the battered paperbacks and recipe books. ‘How old are you?’

  ‘Twenty.’

  ‘Young and healthy. If you were having one baby, I’d say your Ian is right and you’d be fine. But having two is a whole different thing. You should be close to a hospital. Hasn’t a doctor told you that already?’

  ‘Last time I saw a doctor was three months ago.’

  Selecting the book she was looking for, Evie handed it over to Rose. ‘Here you go, have a read of this.’

  Rose looked at the title: All You Need To Know About Being Pregnant.

  ‘That’ll give you a bit of an idea about what to expect.’ Evie paused. ‘I’d really have a hard think about going out to Jacksonville, Rose. It’s a long way, and it’ll feel even longer when the bubs decide they want to come.’

  ‘You there, love?’ Ian called out before Rose could speak. ‘Let’s get on the road.’

  Trying not to frown, Rose took a couple of final deep gulps of her drink. ‘Well, I guess that’s me,’ she said. She glanced around longingly. ‘You’ve got a lovely home. Who would have thought this would be out the back of a roadhouse?’ she said. ‘I’d love a couch like yours.’ She nodded towards the floral-patterned sofa, then turned to the door, and Ian. ‘Coming!’

  Evie put her hand on Rose’s arm as they walked out to the car. ‘Rose, I don’t know you and this is none of my business, but I’m thinking those bubs could arrive very soon. If they’re early, they’ll need medical help.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Rose glanced across at her, her eyes wide.

  ‘Sometimes if babies are born early they need help to breathe. Lungs are the last organ to develop, and if your twins arrive prematurely, they’ll need to stay in hospital for a while. We’ve got a good hospital here in Barker.’

  ‘Oh.’ Rose looked at Ian, then down at the ground, trying to ignore the butterflies in her stomach. The ones that weren’t the babies or indigestion. They were getting harder and harder to ignore. She put her hand on her belly protectively and looked over at Ian. ‘I’ll need time to talk to my husband about that.’ Her hands fell away as she moved towards the car.

  ‘Of course. Still, if you decide you want to stop here, let me know. I have a little house just up the street, with no one living in it. Barker is a lovely, sleepy little town. Gets pretty warm in summer, but that’s just like the welcome you’d get here.’ She nodded. ‘Off with you, then. But take care.’

  ‘What are you two gasbagging about?’ Ian held the car door open for Rose.

  ‘I was just saying that being so far away from the hospital with twins on the way is quite dangerous,’ Evie answered, her smile softened her firm tone. ‘They might need medical help when they’re born. I’ve just been telling Rose that you’re welcome to use my other house if you need it. Just nearby, and it would easily fit your new family.’

  Rose looked at Ian hopefully. ‘A house sounds lovely.’

  ‘Come on, sweet Rosie.’ Ian bent to kiss her. ‘You know the plan.’ He turned to Evie. ‘I want to get her back to Adelaide before the babies are born, but I need this shed to be able to do that.’

  ‘Well, if you change your mind, the offer’s there.’

  Ian looked at her. ‘Why would you do that when you don’t know us?’

  Evie shrugged. ‘I like helping people.’

  ‘Women have b
abies out in the bush all the time.’

  ‘Yes, they do.’ Evie paused, looking at Rose. ‘Some survive and some don’t. As I just said to Rose, twins are a different story.’

  Ian gave a bark of laughter. ‘In this day and age, you’d have to be pretty unlucky to have something go so wrong that you die.’

  ‘If you’re close to medical help,’ Evie agreed.

  Rose frowned as her middle tightened. ‘Come on, Ian,’ she urged. ‘If we’re going, let’s go.’ She reached her hand out to Evie. ‘Thank you for your kindness. Country people and their compassion is one of the reasons I can cope being on the road.’

  ‘Go well, you two,’ Evie bade them farewell, smiling through the window to Rose as Ian started the car.

  ‘She’s a bit of an old busybody,’ he said, pulling the column gear into reverse.

  Rose looked out the window, tears unexpectedly filling her eyes. ‘She was nice,’ she said unsteadily as she looked down and opened the book to the first page.

  What happens in the first trimester, she read. Bit late for that.

  Ian glanced over at her. ‘What have you got there?’

  ‘Evie gave it to me.’ She flicked the cover over so he could read the title, realising her voice shook a little as she spoke.

  ‘Hmm.’ Ian looked back at the road, silent for a while. ‘Don’t tell me you actually want a house and to be in one place all the time? You knew you weren’t going to get that with me.’

  ‘I know. I’m fine. Probably just tired.’ She squeezed her eyes shut. What she really wanted to say was: Yes! Yes, she did want a house, with a pretty sitting room and a nursery for the babies. A bathroom she didn’t have to share with men she didn’t know and a pillow that wasn’t lumpy.

  Ian reached over and put his hand on her knee. ‘Sweet Rosie, are you okay? Did the pains hurt that much?’

  ‘They’re pretty scary,’ Rose admitted.

  ‘You know I love you, don’t you? This life on the road, going from shed to shed—it’s the way it is. You know I don’t want to be confined to one town. That’s why I came to Australia. You didn’t want that either.’

  Rose glanced over at her husband—the tall, dark-haired Irishman she had fallen in love with the first day she saw him walk into the local pub in Ballarat, two years ago. He’d been working in a shed and come into town to let off a bit of steam. She’d been working behind the bar.